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| Rod Rosenstein to Join Trump Aboard Air Force One | Rod Rosenstein to Join Trump Aboard Air Force One |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| WASHINGTON — Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, and President Trump planned to travel to Florida together on Air Force One Monday morning, a week and a half after the two were scheduled to discuss remarks Mr. Rosenstein had made about the president’s fitness for office and an offer to secretly tape conversations with him. | WASHINGTON — Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, and President Trump planned to travel to Florida together on Air Force One Monday morning, a week and a half after the two were scheduled to discuss remarks Mr. Rosenstein had made about the president’s fitness for office and an offer to secretly tape conversations with him. |
| The president’s plane departed just after 11 a.m. for Orlando, where Mr. Trump is to deliver a speech at the International Association of Chiefs of Police annual conference in the early afternoon. A Justice Department official confirmed that the Mr. Rosenstein planned to accompany the president for his speech, but did not share an agenda for any meeting. | |
| Before departing, Mr. Trump was asked whether he had any plans to fire Mr. Rosenstein. | |
| “No, I don’t,” the president told reporters at the White House as he boarded Marine One for the brief trip to Joint Base Andrews, where Air Force One is stationed. Mr. Trump hinted at the disputes he has had with Mr. Rosenstein about the investigation into Russia election interference, which Mr. Rosenstein oversees. | |
| “Looking forward to being with him,” the president said. “We’ll be talking on the plane. I have a good relationship other than there’s been no collusion.” | |
| Presumably, Mr. Rosenstein and Mr. Trump will use their time on board to discuss the fact that the deputy attorney general had offered to secretly tape his conversations with Mr. Trump in the chaotic days after the president fired James B. Comey, the F.B.I. director, in the spring of 2017. At that time, Mr. Rosenstein also brought up the possibility of invoking the 25th amendment to remove Mr. Trump from the White House. | Presumably, Mr. Rosenstein and Mr. Trump will use their time on board to discuss the fact that the deputy attorney general had offered to secretly tape his conversations with Mr. Trump in the chaotic days after the president fired James B. Comey, the F.B.I. director, in the spring of 2017. At that time, Mr. Rosenstein also brought up the possibility of invoking the 25th amendment to remove Mr. Trump from the White House. |
| [Read: Rod Rosenstein Suggested Secretly Recording Trump and Discussed 25th Amendment] | [Read: Rod Rosenstein Suggested Secretly Recording Trump and Discussed 25th Amendment] |
| Disclosure of those conversations thrust Mr. Rosenstein’s future at the Justice Department into doubt. In the days following those revelations, first published Sept. 21 in The New York Times, Mr. Rosenstein told senior White House officials, including John F. Kelly, Mr. Trump’s chief of staff, that he wished to resign. | Disclosure of those conversations thrust Mr. Rosenstein’s future at the Justice Department into doubt. In the days following those revelations, first published Sept. 21 in The New York Times, Mr. Rosenstein told senior White House officials, including John F. Kelly, Mr. Trump’s chief of staff, that he wished to resign. |
| But Mr. Rosenstein’s offer to quit came while the White House and the president were preoccupied with the fight to confirm Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, and the White House delayed the discussion. | But Mr. Rosenstein’s offer to quit came while the White House and the president were preoccupied with the fight to confirm Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, and the White House delayed the discussion. |
| Ultimately, a planned meeting in late September between Mr. Rosenstein and Mr. Trump was canceled. No new date was announced for a time when the two men would discuss Mr. Rosenstein’s comments and his future at the Justice Department. | Ultimately, a planned meeting in late September between Mr. Rosenstein and Mr. Trump was canceled. No new date was announced for a time when the two men would discuss Mr. Rosenstein’s comments and his future at the Justice Department. |
| During a news conference at the United Nations General Assembly, Mr. Trump said that he did not want to fire Mr. Rosenstein, who had denied the reports that he had been willing to secretly tape the president. | During a news conference at the United Nations General Assembly, Mr. Trump said that he did not want to fire Mr. Rosenstein, who had denied the reports that he had been willing to secretly tape the president. |
| “We’ve had a good talk,” Mr. Trump said. “He says he never said it, he doesn’t believe it, he said he has a lot of respect for me, and he was very nice, and we’ll see.” | “We’ve had a good talk,” Mr. Trump said. “He says he never said it, he doesn’t believe it, he said he has a lot of respect for me, and he was very nice, and we’ll see.” |
| Mr. Trump had said that the two men did not want to do anything to interfere with Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing. And Kellyanne Conway, a counselor to the president, said during a televised interview that the two men “are both committed to speaking with each other and resolving this once and for all.” | Mr. Trump had said that the two men did not want to do anything to interfere with Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing. And Kellyanne Conway, a counselor to the president, said during a televised interview that the two men “are both committed to speaking with each other and resolving this once and for all.” |
| Should Mr. Rosenstein quit or be fired from the Justice Department, his departure could fuel public rancor going into November’s midterm elections, which have been consumed by anger and jubilation over Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation. | Should Mr. Rosenstein quit or be fired from the Justice Department, his departure could fuel public rancor going into November’s midterm elections, which have been consumed by anger and jubilation over Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation. |
| Mr. Rosenstein is the top Justice Department official overseeing Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel who is investigating whether the Trump campaign worked with Russia to sway the 2016 election. | Mr. Rosenstein is the top Justice Department official overseeing Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel who is investigating whether the Trump campaign worked with Russia to sway the 2016 election. |
| That position has made Mr. Rosenstein the protector of the Mueller investigation, and sometimes the target of Mr. Trump’s attacks on what he calls a politically motivated witch hunt. | That position has made Mr. Rosenstein the protector of the Mueller investigation, and sometimes the target of Mr. Trump’s attacks on what he calls a politically motivated witch hunt. |